Like pretty much every kid from the 80’s, I grew up with an unnatural obsession with soda.
Coca-cola.
Pepsi.
Cherry Pepsi (fave).
Diet Coke.
Cactus Cooler.
7-Up.
Root beer.
You name it, I’d like to crack open a can and guzzle it down.
Yesssssssss.
Funny thing is, my mama wouldn’t even let us drink soda unless we were eating out or it was a family get-together. My dad, however, didn’t think twice about letting us drink a Pepsi for breakfast during our weekend visits with him. My brother Eric and I would look at each other like, oh yeh buddy and we would drink down our soda cans with glee.
As I grew older, I was like every other American sippin’ on my Big Gulp or super sizing it at the drive thru window. I recently stopped drinking soda because let’s face it–it’s pure sugar and it’s full of empty calories. Now that I’m older and wiser, I feel like I’ve kicked the bad habit for good. I had a sip of some Sprite last week and dude, was it sweet.
But you know, sometimes a girl needs some fizzy bubbly.
I can only drink so much water. And iced tea. Iced coffee. Chai latte. Green juice. Coconut water.
Then I found this recipe for Raspberry Italian Soda by Torani and I was like, I’ve got to try to make this for my fizzy bubbly cravings!
Although I never really count calories because all it does is stress me out, I wanted to make sure this was legit. A 12 oz. can of sparkling water has zero calories. If you add 2 tbsp. of raspberry syrup, it’s 90 calories and 23 grams of sugar. If I chug-a-lugged a 12 oz. can of Wild Cherry Pepsi, it’s 160 calories, 42 grams of sugar and 30 mg of sodium (that’s not even considering an extra large size). There is also the sugar-free option, in case you totally wanted to bypass the sweet stuff.
I think this might be my new thing. Here is how to make your own “Skinny” raspberry Italian soda:
It’s so light and refreshing — especially since here in Southern California it’s still hot as the devil’s buttcrack — and check out my video, it’s so easy to make!
I think it might be even yummier if I added a few fresh raspberries in the glass. I can’t wait to try other flavors. It’s the little things in life…
Enjoy!
